After two passes it appears the White House finally has its nominee for Secretary of Defense. Ashton Carter announced on Twitter that he received a phone call from President Barack Obama nominating him to be the next Secretary of Defense to replace Chuck Hagel who announced his resignation last week. Both Senator Jack Reed and [...]

In honor of tomorrow being Halloween here is another horror story from the black hole of Pentagon financing. According to a report by Department of Defense’s Inspector General, the Defense Logistics Agency exceeded their prices targets by as much as 85% when servicing a contract from a vendor who had exclusive rights to provide replacement [...]

Though we live in the age of austerity, at least concerning the 99%, the Department of Defense gets around $600 billion a year. More funds than any other military in the world. More funds than the next ten highest spending countries combined. So what happens to all that money once it enters the Pentagon? No [...]

Yesterday the Ryan-Murray budget passed broke through the filibuster in the Senate. The Democratic namesake of the agreement, Patty Murray, went on to the Senate floor to trash her own bill before voting for it, noting it did nothing to create jobs nor help the unemployed. Her defense relied on claims that the Republicans wanted [...]

The truly horrendous Ryan-Murray budget has passed the Senate clearing the way to fully pass Congress this week. The deal restores war spending to astronomical levels while cutting federal pensions and raising airline fees. In other words, cash for defense contractors and groin kicks for the middle class. Tuesday’s vote overcame a Republican filibuster attempt that [...]

The Ryan-Murray budget deal to restore profligate military spending and cut the pension system is not winning many supporters. But not everyone is displeased with the Ryan-Murray budget deal. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, said he sent an email to Ryan and Murray profusely thanking them and that the deal is a sign of [...]

Representative Paul Ryan and Senator Patty Murray announced a budget deal yesterday. The deal replaces $63 billion in sequester cuts over two years and cuts an additional $23 billion in long term deficits. The deal will restore defense spending. The funding comes from increased fees for air travel and cuts to federal worker pension programs. [...]

Senator Ted Cruz’s plan to filibuster attempts to modify the House Continuing Resolution bill to include funding for Obamacare will not be supported by GOP Senate leaders. Without the support of fellow Republicans a filibuster would become impossible to sustain and the Democratic majority in the Senate will therefore be able to amend the House [...]

Last week the Republican controlled House passed a continuing resolution that funded all parts of the federal government minus Obamacare. The bill is likely to be killed in the Senate and even more likely to be vetoed by President Obama. But as the bill moves to the Senate, two Senators – Mike Lee and Ted [...]

While pinning down an exact number is difficult, especially as the target list is expanding, there are some initial projections on the potential costs of President Obama’s attack on Syria. The Congressional Research Service analysis puts the cost as high as $12 billion for a year’s operation citing estimates by General Dempsey, chair of the [...]

Does President Obama have some unresolved animosity towards FDR? Obama’s budget not only cuts Social Security but is seeking to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority. Buried on page 51 of President Obama’s new budget proposal is a short section titled “Reform TVA” — where “reform” is likely to mean “privatize.” It’s the quiet beginning of a [...]